Lightning in the Forest
by DownToTheSea
Summary: Recently engaged and nearing their final year at Oxford University, Helen and Nikola pay a visit to some of Helen's extended family and discover a puzzle waiting for them in the nearby woods.
1. Afternoon Walk

**A/N: Originally for an Oxford Teslen prompt, but this spiraled way, way out of control, so the actual prompt fill will be a prequel to this. Set in an AU where John doesn't exist and Helen is engaged to Nikola instead. This might be the most self-indulgent thing I've ever posted haha, enjoy! XD**

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Nikola glanced up as a warning boom of thunder sounded somewhere overhead. This was the third one in the matter of only a few minutes, and it certainly looked like rain was coming. Covering the drab grey sky were inky clouds that had already blotted out the sun, and the wind had picked up, ruffling the hair around his temples and making him shiver.

He had attempted to keep the shivering to a minimum unless no one was looking at him. Unfortunately, being out of the watchful gaze of Helen's extended family members wasn't a situation he was likely to find himself in any time soon.

He hadn't realized she even had very much family outside of her father, but according to Helen these were relations of her mother, and she and her father tried to pay a call on them at least once a year. From Helen's expression, he had gathered the two sides of the family didn't get along very well, and she had admitted that it was mostly a gesture on her father's part to honor her mother's memory. This year, Gregory had decided that as her fiancé, Nikola should come along and meet them too.

Helen was of the opinion that Gregory had invited him to make the visit more pleasant for her, which was why she had agreed. _Nikola_ was of the opinion that Gregory had invited him to inflict as much hell as possible on him. Helen's mother's relations were a good deal wealthier than Gregory Magnus and his daughter, and most of them had made it blisteringly obvious that they did not approve of Nikola in the slightest.

Whether it was because of his nationality (not English, which seemed to be enough for these people), his personal wealth (low), or the fact that he was encouraging Helen to pursue an unladylike career in the medical profession, he couldn't say. A combination of all three seemed likely.

Unlikelier, because no one here but himself, Helen, and Gregory knew, was the possibility that they scorned him because he was an immortal vampire who drank (animal) blood to survive, though in moments of extreme boredom he had toyed with the amusing idea of informing them all of this fact.

Rudeness to himself Nikola could and did tolerate, since he cared very little about their opinions anyway. Besides, he had gotten in a few good retorts himself. What really bothered him was that they were extending it to Helen. At least it didn't seem to trouble her very much. Either long experience had made her cynical about her extended family, or she was simply better at concealing it than he was.

The thunder and wind hadn't upset the woman next to him in the slightest; she chattered on, telling him all about her daughter Margaret and her son Henry and her other son William. It wasn't the most thrilling conversation he had ever experienced, but Nikola didn't mind too much. For one thing, it was nice to let someone else bear the brunt of the conversational load, and for another, Helen's Aunt Adelaide was one of the only people who had been not only civil but friendly to him since their arrival.

Gregory had proposed a walk around the manor grounds after luncheon, possibly to avoid the icy stares that had begun to be cast around. The path was wide enough for only two to walk abreast. Nikola would have taken Helen's arm, but Gregory had gotten there first. He seemed to suspect that the two of them would use this visit to sneak off and engage in improper behavior somehow, even though they had enough chaperones for a small army of young engaged people. (In fairness to Gregory, they had already done just that. Nikola smiled at the memory.)

The rest of the group began to split off in pairs and follow them, skirting Nikola by a conspicuously wide berth. It was beginning to look like he would be relegated to trailing after the others rather pathetically, until Adelaide swept up to him, taking his arm and pouring out an entire conversation's worth of words in the space of a minute.

Nikola didn't like very many people, but he found it difficult not to like her then, as she tugged him along the path with an iron grip. He had liked her even more when she shot a glare at one of Helen's other aunts, the ironically-named Charity, who was constantly giving Nikola glances that ran the gamut from "askance" to "loathing."

"Ah, do you like the rain?" Aunt Adelaide exclaimed as his smile widened, breaking off her current topic (William's deplorable gambling habit, which Nikola had thought it best not to remark too much upon) and switching to a new one with the ease of long practice.

"Yes," Nikola said truthfully, even if it had little to do with his mood improving. More thunder rolled above, and he felt his spirits lift slightly. Well, maybe it was helping after all.

Lightning in particular filled him with sheer exuberance, even if it was a bittersweet pleasure now, when he was trapped so far away from his work at Oxford.

"Oh, so do I," she said. "It always makes one feel so adventurous, does it not? As though you ought to run outside and fight monsters or pirates."

Nikola actually laughed. "Indeed," he said, and unbent so far as to add, "I met Helen in a storm, you know."

"Is that so?" Aunt Adelaide's eyes gleamed. This was more information than anyone had yet managed to extract from him concerning his relationship with Helen.

This time Nikola's smile was soft and reminiscent. "At the Oxford theatre," he told her. "We spent so much time discussing the play that we were caught in the storm on our way back."

Their "discussion" had been animated enough that they had been gently invited to leave, but he saw no reason to include that detail.

"It was on the first day of autumn."

Aunt Adelaide appreciated this poetic detail; he thought she gave a faint sigh.

Helen had worn crimson so vibrant she had outshone the autumn colors of the trees. They had talked of their work before the play had begun, and afterwards Nikola had been of the dazed opinion that she outshone the sun itself.

They had just left the theatre when the clouds burst, and he had offered to escort her home. His excuse was that he was partially to blame for her being out in the storm, but he was mainly hoping only to prolong the short time that he had with her. As it turned out, he needn't have worried. Before Helen had disappeared through the gate to her house, she had invited him to study with her the next day in one of the libraries. Nikola arrived back at his own rooms that night completely drenched but grinning like an idiot.

Aunt Adelaide might have appreciated those poetic details, too, but Nikola held them too close to his heart to share with anyone except Helen. He was not entirely sure why he had said even this much; perhaps it was that, in spite of the few hours together they were able to snatch here and there, he missed Helen, or at least he missed being able to talk freely with her, and not being glared at by a dozen people whenever he so much as took her arm, and quietly working with her in the laboratory they shared with each other and Nigel.

A much louder thundercrack crashed through the sky ominously, and the leisurely pace of the group began to speed up. Aunt Adelaide continued to ask him about Helen, and while he wasn't as forthcoming as she might have liked, particularly about the nature of their current projects, he answered more of her questions at length than he had expected to. Talking about Helen made the current barriers between them seem less, somehow.

They arrived back at the house before the rain started, and there was a general milling about as people handed their coats off to waiting servants. Helen hovered near the door, slipping out of Gregory's arm neatly and joining Nikola and her aunt as they came in last.

"I am sorry for monopolizing your fiancé, my dear," said Aunt Adelaide. "His conversation was most interesting."

Slightly unsettled by this, Nikola hoped his conversation hadn't been _too_ interesting. He was trying to determine if he'd said anything that Gregory would object to when Helen answered.

"It's quite all right, Aunt Adelaide," Helen said cheerfully. "As a matter of fact, I thought I might show him around the grounds for a while longer."

At this suggestion, Gregory's head turned, and Helen switched to addressing both her father and her aunt.

"He has not yet seen the east gardens," she said, as if Nikola had expressed the slightest ounce of desire to see the east gardens.

"Of course," Adelaide said, smiling and nodding sagely. "He must see those."

"They are not at all at their best," Aunt Charity said with a sniff. "That worthless gardener of ours has not been at work for three days. Lying about in a drunken stupor, I am sure." The look she shot Nikola indicated she considered him unworthy of seeing the east gardens at their best anyway.

"Their natural beauty will surely make up for any shortcomings," Helen said with a particularly innocent smile.

"The rain – " Gregory began.

"Has not begun yet," said Helen's aunt smoothly. "I'm certain it will not start for at least another hour, don't you agree, Helen?"

"I quite agree," a rattling boom shook the house, "Aunt Adelaide," Helen finished.

"That's settled then," she said. "You will be just in time for tea when you return."

"Excellent. Come along, Nikola," Helen said brightly, and drew him out of the house and along the path heading the opposite direction they had come from.

Nikola was beginning to have an inkling of what was going on, though he had hardly suspected Helen's aunt of having such a mischievous streak, and he found some enjoyment in Gregory's bemused expression as they walked out.

As much as he appreciated Helen's efforts to get him away from her family for a while, he was so cold by that point that he might rather have endured the disapproving stares if it meant he was able to sit by a fire. When they were well out of earshot and hidden behind a cluster of trees, he said as much to her.

Ever since his vampiric transformation, it had become somewhat harder for him to retain body heat than a human, if the day was not already warm. It was an inconvenience only, as he never grew cold enough that it would pose a serious threat to his health, but it was uncomfortable, especially in the winter. Thankfully, when they were alone, Helen was quite happy to ease that discomfort in a variety of ways which both of them found highly enjoyable.

"I am sorry, Nikola," she said, tucking her arm more securely through his. "But I have something I very much want to show you before another day passes. I believe you'll enjoy it. Besides…"

She leaned closer and whispered something in his ear. Nikola's cheeks were very warm when she was finished, and the rest of him was on its way there.

He swallowed. "Later, then?" he managed.

She smirked.

They passed what was clearly the path to the east gardens, but Helen tugged him onwards, into a less meticulously groomed section of the property.

"What about the east gardens?" He was hardly surprised their destination was elsewhere, but his curiosity was piqued now.

The moment had worn off and he was starting to feel the chill in the air again. Still, his mood brightened as Helen pulled him farther away from the house. Cold as he was, wherever they were headed, it was wonderful to be alone with Helen for a while.

"They are remarkably similar to the west gardens," Helen said dryly. "If anyone asks, you can say that they were rapturously beautiful."

"Then they pale in comparison to you, my dear."

Helen rolled her eyes and he grinned. He was really beginning to feel quite himself again. They crested a hill, a forest appearing in their path as they reached the top, and she led him under the branches. The path was rougher here, clearly less traveled, and had not been kept up well.

"Not that I wish to sound ungrateful, but…" He was about to suggest that instead of traipsing through the forest, they find a pleasant secluded garden bench somewhere and investigate a few of the interesting ideas Helen had offered earlier.

"Another minute more, Nikola."

Helen looked so excited about whatever it was she had to show him that Nikola couldn't possibly refuse to go along with it. Her eyes were sparkling in a way he hadn't seen since they had left Oxford.

So he let her pull him down the uneven path, deftly avoiding branches that had fallen and weeds which had grown up in the middle of it, until they reached their destination.

It was a pond, more of a small lake really, clearly natural instead of manufactured. Flowers and trees grew wild around it, and here in the shelter of the forest not even a strong wind caused a break on the smooth grey surface.

Beside it, at the end of the path, was a small gazebo. It was old, if the peeling white paint was any indication, but it looked as if it had been cared for more than the path had been, and there was a cozy-looking set of chairs and a bench underneath it.

Before either of them could say anything, the sky opened. A flash of brilliant lightning was all that announced it before rain started pouring out, soaking them to the skin almost instantly.

The timing had just been too perfect; they both started laughing, and kept laughing as they stumbled into the limited shelter of the gazebo.

They stood there for a moment, dripping water onto the wooden floor, as Nikola attempted in vain to brush the excess water off and Helen starting wringing out her hair and the parts of her skirt that she could reach.

"Nikola, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding exasperated.

Nikola had just slipped his coat off, intending to give it to her. Yes, it was just as wet as she was, but that was the gentlemanly thing to do, wasn't it? It might keep her a tad warmer. Besides, he liked seeing Helen in his coat, for reasons that weren't very gentlemanly at all.

Helen firmly ended that idea, putting a hand over his cheek and frowning. "Bloody hell, Nikola, you're like ice. Put your coat back on."

"Very well," Nikola muttered, and tried to neither shiver nor sulk as he obeyed.

"Perhaps I should have waited." Helen's voice was low as she considered him.

"Nonsense, my dear. I'm no colder than I would have been under the frigid gaze of your family, and the company is far more pleasant. What was it you wanted to show me?"

Helen smiled at him, like the sun coming out after a rainy day. Of course she knew he was only trying to cheer her up, but she liked it when he did that; he was one of the few people she ever allowed to try, or even to see that she was in need of it at all, which made him rather melt when he managed to succeed.

"This is what I wanted to show you." She swept a hand around her, encompassing their surroundings: the gazebo, the pond, the patches of wildflowers.

Nikola waited. "Yes?" he said after a while. "It's lovely – "

"It's yours," she said, watching him closely. "No one else knows it's here, not even my father. I know it can be...difficult staying here, and I know it's even worse for you. I thought perhaps you might like a place to come when you need to get out of the house."

Nikola stared at her. She was giving him everything he had been wishing for over the last week: blissful solitude, temporary freedom from social obligations, perhaps even a place to take a few of his notebooks out to when the rain stopped and do some work. She was _incredible_.

"I love you," he said fervently.

She laughed. "I know."

Then she was in his arms, kissing him. He knew she must be cold from the rain and the wind, but her lips were warmer than his, her arms wrapping around him and holding him close. Sheer delight overcame him; he lifted Helen up and spun her around, sending water droplets flying everywhere.

A few long minutes went by, sweet with the sound of rain and the feeling of Helen clasped in his arms, her lips pressed to his. Nikola was now quite warm, though Helen's hair was very untidy (she dismissed his attempts to fix it with a wave and said they could blame the storm).

They moved to a comfortable bench, watching the rain splash against the pond's surface. Nikola was still trying to put Helen's hair in some semblance of order, which was made all the more difficult by the fact that most of it was pressed back against his chest.

Finally, he abandoned that pursuit and slipped both arms around Helen, nuzzling her neck. She gave a soft sigh and turned her head, dropping light kisses onto his face.

Nikola had never expected to find such contentment here, listening to the rain with Helen's feather-soft kisses warming him. But he didn't want to cause trouble for her.

"Should we be getting back?" he asked after a while, his voice muffled in her neck. "We did tell your aunt we would return before the rain started."

Helen shifted in his arms. "I doubt she will be offended if we happen to be late," she said, with a twinkle of amusement.

"Your father might," Nikola said glumly.

"Don't worry about him. I am quite capable of dealing with the matter, and besides, I'm sure he will come around soon. You're simply an acquired taste." She kissed him again, and it was hard not to be reassured by the gentle pressure of her lips.

"Indeed?" His voice was only a murmur as he leaned forward, pressing gentle, languid kisses to her cheeks, her jaw, the smile lines above her mouth, before covering it with his and caressing her bottom lip.

Helen's fingers twined through his hair, pulling him closer; when they broke apart for air, she combed through it with a mischievous smile.

"Made all the sweeter by the wait to acquire it," she whispered, and this time it was she who leaned forward to recapture his lips.


	2. Alternate Route

**A/N: Unfortunately the fluff is mostly over for now... Enjoy!**

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The rain began to let up after a few more minutes, the clouds thinning. Nikola could hear bird calls in the trees now.

"Pigeons?"

Helen smiled at him. "Yes."

"Oh, Helen…"

Helen's hair was definitely unsalvageable after that. For that matter, his probably was too.

Then through his closed eyelids there was a reddish glow; the sun came out, Helen's mouth left his, and Nikola said, softly and with a great deal of feeling, "Damn it."

Helen chuckled and disentangled herself from his arms, smoothing her dress. Reluctantly, Nikola followed her out of the gazebo. He knew it was here now, at least; Helen might not always be able to slip away with him, but he could retreat here if he needed to.

The path split off in two as they left: one branch was the way they had come, and another rounded the lake and went off in another direction. Helen selected the second. Nikola caught up to her, taking her hand and letting it swing between them, his thumb stroking her fingers.

"There's an alternate route," Helen explained as she walked on, a faint curve of her lips the only indication she gave of noticing his caresses. "It comes out at the back of the house, so it may be useful for you to know it."

"Encouraging me to steal around without your family's approval?"

"I doubt you need any encouragement."

Nikola met her smirk with one of his own.

This path was in even worse condition than the first, made all the more so by the recent downpour, and his shoes sank into slippery mud every few steps. Helen wove her way through the trees with expert practice, but even she stumbled occasionally.

As she led the way through the forest, he occupied himself in a study of the way her golden hair glinted in the new sunlight. The storm together with certain affectionate gestures on his part had left it quite disheveled, and a few strands had escaped from the knot she'd had it pinned up into. They played across her neck in a mesmerizing fashion.

Nikola was so distracted by Helen, letting her fill his senses completely in the few minutes alone they had left, that he didn't notice the smell until they were right on top of it.

It was difficult to pin down a description; it was certainly a living creature, but no animal that he had ever encountered before. There was a dank, musty scent to it. Nikola was reminded of a few of the more unpleasant underground caverns he and Helen had excavated in their search for vampiric ruins.

Something about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Perhaps it was the incongruity of something so foul being in such a pleasant forest, fresh from the rain; perhaps it was that the smell was strong enough that its source had to be very close, but when he looked around, nothing was there.

Perhaps it was that the birds had stopped singing.

When he had become a vampire, Nikola had learned to tune out most of the ambient sounds around him, that he could hear so much more clearly than a human. He stopped now, and listened.

He heard his heart and Helen's beating (he would have liked to say they were in perfect harmony, but the truth was that his was a touch quicker at the moment), and the breath rasping through their lungs. The rustle of Helen's skirt, their shoes squelching on the sodden path, water dripping from a nearby tree into a puddle on the ground. Nothing else.

It was as if, quite suddenly, they had walked into a bubble where no living thing besides themselves existed. Themselves, and whatever was causing that tang in the air.

He took another sniff, trying to place it. Helen glanced over at him.

"Not a head-cold, I hope," she said.

"No," he said vaguely. "I haven't had one of those in years."

He was about to say more when Helen stopped in place and peered to the side of the path.

"Hmm," she said. "Nikola, have a look at this."

He joined her, his head only inches from hers. A pale, translucent substance hung suspended between two trees a few feet off the path: a spiderweb, though he had never seen one so thick or so large before. It was beautiful, intricate patterns crisscrossing over each other with trapped droplets of water glittering here and there in the sun.

Helen reached out a hand at the same time Nikola did. Leaning in together, they each ran a finger along a strand, intrigued. It was strong and rather silky, though also quite sticky. Nikola's hand came away only after a firm tug.

"Hmm," he echoed Helen. "Interesting." Though however interesting it was, it was definitely not the source of that strange smell.

"Very." Helen stepped off the path, looking deeper into the forest. She took another step, her skirts trailing the ground, cluttered by dead leaves and branches. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, but Nikola happened to glance down. He froze.

Camouflaged by the rusty autumn colors was a small splash of dried blood. Long, deep grooves in the earth surrounded it. Something very heavy and sharp had scored the ground here.

"I believe there are more of them further on." Helen's voice sounded far away through a sudden rushing in Nikola's ears. His skin crawled. The smell was so strong, the forest so uncannily quiet. There was something out here with them, something that had driven all the other animals away.

"Helen," he whispered, and she stopped moving off the path.

She could hear it in his voice; her eyes were narrowed as she turned, her body tense. "What is it, Nikola?"

Slowly, Nikola reached a hand out. "We should get back."

For a moment, he stood with his hand outstretched, Helen motionless before him, like they were actors on a stage.

They were being watched, he was certain of it now. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel it, in the prickling along his skin, the dead silence all around them.

Helen had read his expression. Her mouth was tight as she took his hand, also moving slowly, and let him pull her back to the path. He kept her hand clasped in his as they started walking, and slid the other arm around her waist, feeling an invisible set of eyes tracking every movement.

Helen's breathing was strained, but her eyes were turned forwards, her body straight as an arrow. Perhaps she was a little too stiff, her grip on Nikola's hand a little too firm, but other than that she gave no outward indication that anything was wrong. Nikola's heart was hammering in his ears, his own breath ragged when he breathed at all.

Whatever was watching them, he was certain he could outrun if it he had to, but leaving Helen behind wasn't an option. He wasn't eager to start a fight with it, not after seeing those marks on the ground. He didn't think Helen had even brought her guns… It might be better to use himself as a distraction and let Helen go on ahead, then catch up to her later after losing it in the woods.

Helen was no doubt considering this very matter. She gave him a calculating look out of the corner of her eye.

"Whatever you have in mind, you may abandon the idea. I came somewhat more prepared than you."

Nikola looked down to see a small but wicked gun in her hand, pressed against the folds of her skirt. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Your capacity for concealing weapons about your person never ceases to amaze me, my dear, but I'm still the logical choice. Vampire, remember?"

Her jaw tightened. "I'm not leaving you."

Her quiet determination washed away some of his tension. Nikola rather wanted to kiss her right then and there, but practicality (just barely) won out. "Together, then?"

"Of course."

On Helen's signal, they turned in unison, Nikola's claws sliding out as Helen swung her gun up.

Nothing stood before them except an empty path, curving away into the forest. Eerie silence still hung heavy over them, and Nikola tilted his head, listening for any sign. Something had followed them, of that he was sure, but it had come to a dead stop as soon as they had.

"Nikola, are you certain – "

It happened so fast Nikola barely registered it. There was a rustling of dry leaves in the trees to his left as something rushed towards them. On instinct, he pushed Helen away just before it tackled him.

He caught only a glimpse of it, huge and dark, before it bore him to the ground, an iron weight pressing his chest and head into the mud. He tried to kick up, but something seized his ankles, dragging him along the ground and off the path with inhuman speed.

Nikola had no leverage to free himself, and the forest was flying by in a blur of red-orange and brown as he was pulled along. One of his flailing hands found a tree root and grasped it, and they jerked to an abrupt halt.

There was a sharp pull on him that probably would have broken a human's arm, but Nikola held on stubbornly, claws biting into the root. He could feel it giving way; another pull would dislodge him.

The creature let out a low hissing growl and climbed over him. Multiple weights pressed into his back as its stench flooded over him. Six legs, he thought, or somewhere close. Holding his breath, Nikola brought his free arm up, jabbing his elbow back into one of them. It cracked uselessly against some kind of hard exoskeleton. He gave a frustrated hiss of his own and jabbed at it again, but it was not deterred in the slightest.

The small explosion from just ahead of them _did_ deter it, though. It let out a piercing screech, its weight vanishing suddenly as it threw itself away from him, crashing through the undergrowth before Nikola could turn to catch a look.

Helen hurried forward, her gun in one hand, the other hitching her skirts up to allow for more freedom and speed of movement. Any other time, Nikola would have remarked on the delightful glimpse he was afforded of her perfect legs, but there were some moments even he considered improper for such a thing. Besides, he didn't have the breath to speak.

"Nikola, are you hurt?" Helen was out of breath too as she took his hand and helped him to his feet. She must have had to sprint to catch up with them in time.

He shook his head, gulping in air. "Just knocked the wind out of me. Yourself?"

"It never even got near me." Helen pulled at his hand. "Come along, quickly. I believe I blinded it, but we may not have much time before it returns."

He nodded. They rushed back through the forest, finding their way to the path and running the last few feet to the open lawn. Every moment Nikola thought something was going to spring out at them from the trees, but after they made it all the way to the east gardens' entrance, he was forced to concede that they had escaped for now.

The smell of it was gone, the feeling of being watched evaporating along with their breathless adrenaline. They sagged a little against each other as they finally slowed their pace. Helen's fingers wound through Nikola's, squeezing his hand tight in hers.

"Helen," he said in a low voice as they ascended the stone steps to the main entrance. "What the hell was that?"

Her voice was unsteady. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."

Nikola was rather unsteady himself. As a newly minted vampire, there wasn't much that unsettled him anymore. But there was something about that creature…

He wanted very much to take Helen into his arms and not let go for a good long while. But then the door opened and the butler beckoned them in, with only a mildly offended look at their wet, wrinkled clothing (positively filthy in Nikola's case) and untidy hair.

"Helen, my dear, did you get caught in the storm?" Aunt Adelaide exclaimed, hurrying over. She must have been passing through the hall; or perhaps, Nikola thought dryly, she had been hanging around to get a glimpse at their appearance and see how much they had enjoyed their time alone in the east gardens.

Still, her presence seemed so normal, the way she took Helen's shoulders in a motherly fashion so comforting, that Nikola found himself relaxing. He turned around for one last look.

However many times he looked, it was still comforting to see nothing. The butler closed the door. Nikola had never imagined he would feel such a sense of relief at being shut in this house.

"Goodness, are you quite alright?" Adelaide's eyebrows shot up when Nikola turned around and she got a good look at him, covered in mud from head to toe.

"I'm afraid Nikola only slipped and fell in the gardens," Helen said, and once again he stood in admiring awe of her. There was only a touch of ruefulness and an undercurrent of dry mischief in her voice, not a sign of what they had faced earlier.

"I think it would be wise for both of us to change before tea. Nikola?"

"Yes," he said automatically. "Of course."

"Well, hurry along then," Adelaide said, still giving them a curious look.

Nikola followed Helen up the wide staircase, then turned to check that no one was watching. Adelaide had gone into the sitting room, the butler had disappeared, and no one saw him follow Helen down the hall to her room instead of going to the opposite wing where his was located.


	3. Reading by Moonlight

Nikola shut and locked the door of Helen's room before turning to her. She was standing before the mirror, undoing what remained of her coiled hair; he went over to assist.

"Thank you, Nikola," she murmured as his hands glided over her head, removing pins and untwisting knots. At last it was all down, but his fingers remained twined in her hair, stroking it gently.

Helen reached up, taking one of his hands and drawing it forward, kissing his fingers before guiding it down to her waist. To Nikola's surprise, her hand shook ever so slightly. Or maybe it was his own. He was clumsier than usual in undoing her buttons.

They didn't speak until after they were both dressed and had washed their faces and hands. (It was lucky that he'd had the foresight to hide a change of clothes in Helen's room beforehand, though he had hardly expected this to be the reason he would need it.)

They were sitting on the bed, and Nikola was brushing Helen's hair, before one of them broke the silence.

"Have you ever encountered anything like that before?" he asked softly.

She shook her head, making the gleaming golden waves of her hair ripple over his fingers. "Never. Not personally, and not in my father's notes. Have you?"

"No. I never saw it clearly, what was it like?"

"I only saw it for a moment myself before it escaped. Insectoid, I believe, though its bearing was almost serpentine, and its teeth…"

"It sounds like a delightful creature indeed."

Helen had unfocused somewhat, staring at the crackling fireplace. She came back to herself and smiled slightly.

"With arachnoid characteristics as well, if it spun that web," he added.

"Possibly," was all she said.

Nikola tilted his head, examining her hair and judiciously inserting another pin. "You believe it did not?"

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "It may have. But I have seen webs of that nature before, in my father's notes. And if traps were its preferred method of drawing in prey, why attack us like that? No, another creature may be in play, though I am not yet sure how."

"Hmm… There was blood on the ground near it, several days old. Though I assumed it was human."

Helen grimaced.

There was a silence. Nikola finished with her hair, winding an arm around her and hugging her to him for a moment.

"You're planning to go out and track it down tonight, aren't you?" he asked.

"I have to. Whatever is out there, it's clearly dangerous."

"Without a doubt. Helen, might I ask something of you?"

"What is it?"

Some might have been offended that she had asked his terms before she agreed. Nikola grinned and kissed her before returning to his request.

"Wait until tomorrow night? It may be suspecting an incursion tonight. If we let it lick its wounds, and think we've left it alone, we may catch it off guard."

Helen considered his request for a moment. "Very well," she said.

He breathed a sigh of relief against her neck. "And take me with you."

She turned to smile at him. "There was never any chance I would not, my dear."

It felt strange to go back to the social niceties (or conspicuous lack thereof, in Nikola's case) after their experience in the forest. Sitting at Helen's side on the couch by the fire, drinking tea and listening to Aunt Charity pointedly leave him out of the conversation, Nikola almost didn't believe it himself.

But if he had needed proof, he didn't need to look far. Helen drank three cups of tea instead of two, and put far more sugar in than she usually did. For Helen Magnus, that was a sign of extreme distress.

Gregory had noticed it too, and kept giving her concerned looks, which grew more so when Helen started asking pointed questions about the woods, trying to glean information on whether there had been any unusual incidents there lately. (None, according to Charity. Adelaide had mentioned that the poachers seemed to be back at it again, quite bold she dared say, as she had heard a gunshot around the time that Helen and Nikola had been out.)

They would have to take Gregory into their confidence, of course. Helen had access to his journals, but he might know some additional piece of information that hadn't made it into those records. Right now he had more experience than either of them at dealing with abnormals, particularly dangerous ones, and they needed all the help they could get. But Helen had not had a chance to talk to him alone yet, so for now he would have to wonder.

He had also noticed that Nikola was sitting very close to Helen. If he inched over even the slightest, his leg would be touching hers. Personally, Nikola found the thought delectable; but his nerves had been rattled this afternoon and he wilted under Gregory's glare, shuffling away from her.

Helen glanced over, frowning, and shifted closer. Little by little they continued in this way, Nikola moving slightly away and Helen moving slightly closer, until they had traveled nearly an entire couch cushion, whereupon Nikola gave up and smirked at Gregory as Helen's skirt brushed his ankle. She settled even closer than she had before, taking a serene sip of her tea as if nothing had happened. Out of the corner of his eye, Nikola saw Adelaide chuckling at them.

Helen finally cornered Gregory after dinner in the library, emerging just as Nikola was climbing the stairs to go to bed. He hadn't been able to spend long in the company of Helen's family by himself, and had excused himself at the earliest possible moment.

"Well, did he have any pertinent advice?" Nikola asked as she joined him.

"He asked what on earth we were up to now," she replied with a smile. "He was not familiar with the creature either, and agreed with your plan to wait and prepare for a day. Also, he'll have a look over his records to see if he can find any new information that might be of assistance."

Gregory agreeing with him was a new sensation, and Nikola took a moment to savor it.

She glanced down to make sure he was still in the library, and lowered her voice. "He offered to come with us, but I told him we wouldn't need his help. I… somewhat understated the speed and aggressiveness of the creature to convince him."

Nikola raised his eyebrows.

"He is not as young as he once was," she continued, in a pensive tone. "And he was never very skilled in combat. To tell you the truth, I am not at all sure how he survived working alone all those years."

"Perhaps he was not always alone. Or perhaps it's that famous luck of you Magnuses. I've seen it on display myself a few times."

Helen gave him a small smile.

Nikola touched her elbow, returning her smile. "Besides, what could pose a threat to the two of us working together?"

They separated by necessity at the top of the stairs. Nikola took her hand for a moment, bending down and gently brushing his lips against it. Smiling at him, Helen touched his cheek, then turned and walked down the corridor to her room, leaving Nikola to go alone to his.

He got into bed, but he couldn't sleep. The old manor house creaked dreadfully at night. There was an ancient oak tree that had grown up right next to his window, and with every scrape of its branches against the side of the house, a horrifying picture entered Nikola's mind: some gigantic creature scuttling up the sides of the house, claws scraping the building as it dropped into his room, or Helen's.

The knowledge that Helen slept with at least one gun under her pillow at all times helped, but he still tossed and turned, restless. The way Helen had described the creature had sounded familiar, and about an hour later, just as his eyes were finally closing, he remembered why.

He sat up in bed suddenly and threw off the blankets. For a minute, he fumbled in his desk without lighting a candle, then opened the door after he had found what he was looking for. Taking care not to let it creak on its hinges, he shut it and glided along the hallway to Helen's room.

He wasn't expecting her to be asleep tonight, and he was correct. She opened the door after the first soft tap.

"What is it, Nikola?" she asked after she let him in and locked the door.

"I remembered something," Nikola said, holding out the book he had taken from his desk, one of his many journals of notes on various vampiric texts they had discovered. "Have a look at the place I marked. You look lovely, by the way."

Helen rolled her eyes and took the book, crossing over to the window to read by the moonlight. She did look lovely, in her pale nightgown with her gold hair braided over one shoulder.

Nikola followed her to the window, wrapping both arms around her and kissing the nape of her neck.

"Nikola," she said softly, but with a hint of amusement. "You are distracting me from the translation."

"I do try." Nikola leaned forward, settling his chin on Helen's shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I think your ancestors were needlessly melodramatic."

"Indeed? Personally, I find their stylistic choices quite compelling."

"Naturally."

"And the passage?"

Helen leaned back against him, holding the book up to the light again. "And our enemy brought forth a new weapon, a monstrosity which they called a predator of our kind, and those among us who were ignorant feared it, for it could… hmm."

"I have not yet been able to translate that word either," Nikola admitted. "The closest I've come is 'freeze' but that does not quite fit. This is the only place it appears."

"Hmm," Helen said again, then went on. "And it had slain many of us before we vanquished it, as we have always done, and will always, forever until the end of time, etc. etc. ad infinitum, really Nikola, how do you endure reading pages upon pages of this stuff?"

"The point is," Nikola said, ignoring this, "this particular text was illustrated."

Underneath the passage was Nikola's sketch of the original composition. He might have put the pieces together earlier if he had actually seen the creature. Six legs, a long winding neck, sharp incisors… It left little doubt in his mind.

"Dear lord," she said quietly. "You think this is some kind of ancestor of what's in the woods?"

"It seems likely. Though I do wonder where those ancient humans found such a creature..."

"If this is true, it may be more dangerous than we first thought," she pointed out.

"Yes," he admitted. "Though not invulnerable, as your very well-placed bullet proves, my dear. Are you still determined to go looking for it tomorrow night?"

"Even more so. If it proved difficult for even vampires to defeat, who knows what it could do to humans? Besides, it may yet be possible to communicate and reason with it. If so, we must get there before someone else discovers it."

Nikola smiled, because he had expected nothing less. He kissed her cheek before he straightened and stepped back. "Then we are in agreement, in which case we both need our rest. You know, sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care…"

"No Shakespeare, please."

"As you like it, my dear."

Helen rolled her eyes again, but when he turned to leave, she caught him by the wrist. He turned back with a curious look. The humor had left her eyes; she spoke only one word, her voice low, but it was all Nikola needed to hear.

"Stay."


	4. The Forest at Night

It was the weight on the bed shifting that woke Nikola, though when he opened his eyes, the room was so bright with morning sun that he wondered at not having woken sooner.

Helen was sitting next to him, propped against the headboard with his journal in her hands. She was already fully dressed, in a rich blue gown that set off her splendid eyes. Her curling hair hung loose over her shoulders, and there was a faint smile on her face as she turned a page.

Nikola lay there for a minute basking in the moment, and the immense gratitude that always accompanied such times. That he was so fortunate as to be able to contemplate spending the rest of his life with her –

"Good morning, Nikola," Helen said without looking away from his journal, interrupting these pleasant thoughts with an even more pleasant ruffle of his hair. "Perhaps you could give me your thoughts on a few of these notes if you have nothing better to do than lie there gazing at me."

"Could there be any higher pursuit?" Nikola sat up, taking care not to wrinkle her dress as he leaned over to kiss her good morning, then lifting her hand and kissing that too.

Helen stroked his hand with a fond smile. "I can think of several."

Nikola let out a theatrical sigh and lowered their hands, keeping them clasped together as he leaned over to take a look. "Very well. What did you want to ask me?"

"I've been trying to find more references to this creature, but I've had no luck so far. Are you certain you haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Perhaps they didn't enjoy mentioning it very much, if it posed such a threat to them."

"Perhaps." Helen sighed, frustrated. "At least we know more now than we did during our first encounter. Still, I can't help but wish we had more information, particularly concerning that passage you couldn't translate."

"Well, we could wait, but…"

She shook her head. "We can't take the chance. Be on your guard tonight, Nikola. If vampires are this creature's choice of prey, you'll be its first target."

* * *

Nikola spent the day going through the motions, never sparing more than a part of his full attention to anyone or anything but Helen and preparations for tonight. He probably seemed rude; but since he was rude on a regular basis, he doubted anyone noticed.

Clouds descended over the sky in the late afternoon, and Helen excused herself after tea to rest in her room for a while. Nikola knew what she was actually doing: cleaning and preparing her weapons and reading through Gregory's journals to glean whatever she could about the other creature that might be present. They could not rely on its help, but it didn't hurt to prepare.

She remained there the entire evening, which left Nikola to deal with Helen's family at dinner by himself. Luckily, he was seated by Aunt Adelaide, who chattered away at him the entire time, so he could safely nod, smile, and let his thoughts wander elsewhere.

She tutted at him as he mechanically pushed the food around on his plate. "You must eat something, I have not seen you take anything but wine all day."

Nikola silently cursed her observation. He could eat, and enjoy eating, when he wanted to, but tonight he was hardly in the mood. But he couldn't tell Adelaide that all he really needed to survive was fresh blood, so he took a bite, hoping it would satisfy her and he could go back to nodding and smiling. It seemed to, though she was giving him curious looks all throughout the rest of the night.

The rain started just as dinner was ending. Claiming a chill and a headache (the former of which was true and the latter entirely false), Nikola went upstairs as soon as the meal was complete, and crept to Helen's room to wait with her.

* * *

They spent a few hours preparing as best they could (and engaging, Nikola would admit, in a few not unpleasant distractions), until the rest of the household had retired.

They couldn't light a candle for fear of being seen, but the light had been out in Helen's room, so her eyes were adjusted to the dark, and Nikola's night vision was close to perfect at any time. Helen had changed into the outfit she wore on missions: a skirt that wouldn't drag on the ground, sturdy boots, and that high-necked leather coat that Nikola did so enjoy wrapping around her, and unwrapping…

Helen squeezed his hand tightly. "Focus, Nikola," she murmured.

He sighed, only a faint breath in the darkness, and gave a quick answering press of his hand.

They left through the servants' entrance as the front door would be too conspicuous, emerging out on the back side of the house into a storm even heavier than that of two days prior.

Even Nikola had trouble seeing in the thick sheet of water coming down on them. Inside the house, it had only been a background rumble, but out here, with driving rain and booming thunder and the wind whistling against his ears, he had to shout to make himself heard.

Helen shook her head. "Not tomorrow," she shouted back. "We've waited longer than I would have liked already, and it won't be expecting us in this downpour."

"Yes, because we can't see or hear anything!" Nikola retorted.

She gave that grin that appeared when she was doing something reckless. "Come now, what about your vaunted vampiric senses? Besides, I expect it will let up soon."

"Optimist," Nikola muttered, but Helen didn't hear him.

It was impossible to argue with Helen when she was like this, so he kept a firm grip on her hand as they circled around the house and back to the path they'd taken earlier.

Visibility was so poor that Nikola couldn't make out the entrance to the east gardens, even though he knew they passed it at one point; but he could tell as soon as they made it under the overhanging branches of the forest at last.

The rain was lessened here. The trees sheltered them from the wind, so he could hear Helen walking beside him again, and his own heart pounding in his ears.

Helen turned them from the path at the web, following the direction the creature had escaped towards earlier. There were more webs now, woven between branches here and there as they went.

The storm turned the normally pleasant forest into a claustrophobic scene from a nightmare, trees looming over them, pressing close against them. Every so often, a bolt of lightning created distorted shadows out of a nearby tree trunk. They were gone in the blink of an eye, but Nikola turned around multiple times, just to make sure they had only been shadows.

Deeper and deeper they went along an uneven, rambling course, Helen following whatever sign she could find of its passage. She hadn't needed to ask him if he could sense the creature's presence again. One look at his face when they had entered the forest had told her enough, and she had drawn one of her guns, which she held at the ready.

Helen came to an abrupt stop, and for a moment Nikola thought the trail had ended, but then he followed her eyes.

There was a massive tree before them, a gaping hollow in it opening up close to the ground. Dead leaves and branches had been gathered in it as a sort of nest, and beside the nest…

"Dear lord," Helen breathed. She broke away from him and rushed forward, but it was far too late to help the man lying there. Nikola judged him to have been dead for close to a week, dried blood around a wound in his neck leaving little doubt as to the culprit. Holding his breath – the smell was making him gag – he went forward.

"Helen, I – I don't believe there's anything we can do now." Nikola took Helen's shoulders, gently pulling her up and away. She had seen enough to agree with him, and they retreated some distance away, where they could both breathe freely again. Her jaw was set.

A remark of her aunt's that had passed unnoticed at the time reasserted itself in Nikola's memory, and he threw an uneasy glance back at the hollow. The poor gardener had been more responsible than she believed, it seemed.

"It's attacking non-vampires. If it decides to move its hunting ground to some place more populated – a town…" Helen voiced both their thoughts, and was quiet for a moment. "We still try to incapacitate it first. Unless we have no other choice."

Nikola nodded. "What now? We wait?"

Helen released his hand and took a few steps away, peering around the inky blackness. It was like they were on an island – if they walked more than a few feet away from their current position, they would be swallowed by the darkness and the rain. She turned back to him.

It was only a glance upward, but the way her body stiffened told Nikola everything he needed to know. Well, he thought, at least they hadn't had to wait very long.

He looked up.

It was hanging from the main body of the tree, its remaining obsidian eyes fixed hungrily on him. It would have resembled a spider, except that its flat, triangular head was uplifted on a long neck and it had a wide, grinning mouth, filled with teeth like those of a shark. Six legs, wicked claws adorning the front four, were wrapped around the trunk, biting into the wood to keep it balanced. Its body glinted hard and black in the occasional flash of lightning, covered with some kind of natural armor. When it moved, its speed rivaled Nikola at his fastest.

Nikola outdid himself on that occasion, throwing himself out of the way just as it dropped to the ground with a guttural hiss. Helen fired as it landed, one bullet pinging off its leg and the other sinking into an unprotected joint, making it stumble for a moment. It recovered quickly, but spared Helen only a snarl before it flung itself at Nikola again.

He was ready this time, claws extended, and ducked aside, slashing at its legs. Then he twisted away as Helen fired again. Between the two of them, one of its legs folded and gave out, but the other five held as it kept after Nikola.

It was fast, faster than anything he had ever went up against. To get at its legs Nikola had to avoid its own attacks, dart in, and retreat before it could catch him. There was no margin for error, even with Helen's bullets slowing it down.

Adrenaline raced through him, the sound of the rain and Helen's gunfire fading away. He dodged a swipe from one leg as it circled him, forcing him to turn continually just to keep it in his line of sight.

It was driving him away from Helen, closer to the hollow. The smell hit him again – he lost focus and his foot struck a knotted tree root, tipping him off balance for just a moment.

That split second was all it needed; all the breath was knocked out of his lungs as it seized him and tossed him against a tree, body contorting as two of its clawed legs pierced his shoulders, pinning him in place.

Nikola let out a hiss of his own – that had been his favorite waistcoat – and slashed at it again. Its armor held, though, and it pulled out one of its talons and drew back. The angle left little doubt as to its purpose: it was about to stab him in the heart.

He knew, from experience that he hadn't told Helen about quite yet, that he could survive a direct blow to the heart. But it would incapacitate him for a minute, during which the creature would either finish him off or go after Helen. Both were unappealing possibilities.

His hands were uselessly scrabbling around the creature's neck, trying to find a way into its armor; grasping it tight, he used it as leverage to push himself to the side. His shoulder exploded with pain as he tore away from the claw still pinning him, but he managed to roll aside as its other leg thudded into the tree, sending wood chips flying.

Nikola went sprawling to the ground; his shoulder throbbed, slowing him down as he tried to stand. It would heal soon, but for a few seconds he was out of commission. He looked up just in time to see Helen leveling her revolver at the creature.

She fired, and behind him came an unearthly howl.

He turned. Helen had hit it in the eyes once more, and it recoiled, scuttling between the trees as it made a long arc around her. She had a steely expression that he had only rarely seen before, and he wondered if she had decided they had reached the point where there was no other choice.

A crack of thunder covered her next gunshot, but the creature staggered back again. Nikola struggled to his feet, shoulder still burning. The storm was increasing in intensity, lightning flashes only a few seconds apart. One lanced down to earth only half a dozen yards away, the tree it had struck collapsing in a shower of sparks.

It blinded both of them for a second, but Nikola didn't have to see in order to know what would happen next. He launched himself directly between the creature and Helen. His instinct proved correct as it struck him heavily, and they toppled to the ground.

Helen's gunshot glanced off its armor as it rolled over Nikola and twisted its neck down, opening its jaws wide. This close, he could see something dripping from its teeth, a noxious smell overpowering him. She fired twice more and he heard her swearing as the bullets bounced harmlessly off its body, before it lowered its head and sank its jagged teeth into Nikola's neck.

Suddenly he was on fire, pain shooting from its teeth throughout his body. The rest of the world faded in and out; he was only distantly aware that he had cried out.

He couldn't have said how long that went on. Dimly, he could hear more explosions from behind him as Helen fired continuously.

The weight lifted off him, the teeth tearing out of his neck. The pain let up slightly, but not enough for Nikola to do anything besides struggle to his knees, his entire body still burning. He sagged against a nearby tree and turned.

A bolt of lightning illuminated the scene. Helen stood, two guns in her hands, facing the creature as it approached her. It was moving slower than it had before; she might have wounded it seriously, or, he thought grimly, it was playing with her.

Since the beginning of the fight, even through his haze of pain, Nikola had counted her shots. She was out of ammunition.

There was another lightning strike behind Helen, but she didn't even flinch. She had locked eyes with those remaining of the creature, her chin lifted as it took maddeningly slow steps towards her. Determined, even at the very last, not to show fear of any kind.

Nikola tried desperately to move, to help her somehow, but his limbs were heavy and numb. The creature drew closer and closer to her, and he could see her body tense, planning a strike that she had to know would never land. There were only a few seconds left, and at the last possible moment, Helen turned her head, looked at Nikola, and smiled.

Something inside him snapped. An anguished cry burst from him; he finally managed to move, but all he had time to do was throw his hand out uselessly before another lightning bolt struck, engulfing him in blinding white light.

For a moment everything seemed to stop. Then a strange feeling rushed through him, an intoxicating rush of pure energy, running from the top of his head to the tips of his outstretched fingers. The lightning coalesced and formed a jagged bolt that shot from his hand and struck the creature just as it reached Helen.

It was knocked off its feet, flying through the air and hitting a tree with a sickening thud. The lightning faded, leaving Nikola aching and raw from its passage through him. Together with the fire still spreading from his neck and shoulder, it overwhelmed him; his legs buckled and he fell sideways, eyes closing as he hit the muddy ground.

He heard Helen shout something and managed to open his eyes. The creature was somehow still moving, though it didn't look like it would last much longer. It lurched at her, one leg sweeping hers out from under her as it tried the same trick it has used on him, its claws cutting towards her shoulders. Its aim was off; she rolled aside and only one claw slashed through her arm.

Nikola was utterly drained. He could not move now no matter how much he wanted to, and he was forced to watch in horror as it brought a claw up, poised to strike at her.

Then something shot out of the darkness behind him, whistling overhead as it plunged into the creature's open mouth. It fell away from Helen with a growl and started towards him. Another shot joined the first, some kind of very fine projectile, and to Nikola's shock, the creature stopped, its legs folding in on itself, and slowly toppled over.

Nikola saw Helen moving on the ground, heard her groan; it was all he needed to reassure himself before he allowed himself to lose consciousness.


	5. Answers

"Nikola." Helen's voice was sharp, worried. "Nikola, wake up."

His eyes opened slowly. He knew it was Helen kneeling over him because of her golden hair, bright even at night, but he couldn't make out any features or distinct shapes. Behind her, a huge, shadowy blur moved slightly.

"Nikola, can you hear me?"

"Your hair looks beautiful," he mumbled. "It reminds me of… that first night we spent together…"

A brief jolt across his face roused him.

"Nikola!" Helen's face swam into view, her eyes wide. Everything lower than her face was covered with blood, and Nikola abruptly remembered the preceding events. Behind her he caught a glimpse of multiple legs shifting on the ground. He recoiled, clutching at Helen's hand and trying to pull her with him.

"Helen – "

"It's alright," Helen said quickly, gripping his hand. "She won't hurt us. I was correct about there being another abnormal out here. She helped us, as a matter of fact."

Nikola took a second look and realized there were too many legs on the ground, and when he lifted his eyes, the upper half of the creature was distinctly different. Humanoid, actually, which meant –

"Arachnotaur," he said. It was proving rather difficult to speak or even breathe for some reason, but he managed to get his next words out and even lifted his head to address their new friend directly. "Sorry… Thank you."

She didn't acknowledge him, at least not that he saw, and he turned his attention back to Helen. "Are you alright?"

He saw her eyes roll before his vision faded out again.

"Bloody _hell_. Nikola, wake up, come on."

He groaned. "I _am_ awake. I would like to sleep now, if it's all the same to you."

"You can't sleep," she insisted as his eyes opened again. "I need you to tell me everything you're feeling."

"Why?" His voice was a hoarse whisper. "It'll heal… I just need a bit of rest…"

"That's just it, Nikola." There was something in Helen's voice that Nikola only very rarely heard. She sounded frightened.

"You're not healing," she whispered.

It took a moment for the words to sink in; automatically, Nikola looked down, at the gash in his shoulder that was still open, blood from his neck wound escaping the torn piece of Helen's skirt that she had used as a rough bandage.

Helen's face, the arachnotaur, and the forest all tipped upside down and spun in a dizzying blur of colors, until Nikola closed his eyes against it, Helen's voice fading into the distance as he sank once more into blissful oblivion.

* * *

Her arm burning where the creature's claw had sliced it open, Helen led the way back through the forest. The arachnotaur was carrying Nikola, covered in blood and lifeless as a doll. Cradled in her massive arms, he almost looked like one. Only the shallow rise and fall of his chest assured Helen that he was alive, and she found herself looking back every few seconds to make certain he was still breathing.

Before leaving the creature, Helen had made sure it was dead. The lightning Nikola had channeled (somehow – Helen was still reeling over that) had done it, that final attack its death throes. She supposed they had an answer now for that untranslatable passage: somehow, it had been able to suspend Nikola's healing abilities. Helen suppressed a shudder and refocused. She would get him back to the house, and then she would worry about the rest.

She was only grateful for the help from her companion. However wounded the creature had been after Nikola's lightning, it might still have killed her if not for the assistance. She'd had no reason to help them even further after the creature was dead, but when Helen had turned to look at her after Nikola lost consciousness the second time, she had merely leaned down, picked him up, and scuttled off on her spidery legs. Wounded as the two of them were, Helen doubted she could have gotten him back by herself.

That long journey back to the house was not one Helen cared to relive. The rain was still beating down and she could hardly see where she was going, even if she hadn't been anxiously turning around every few seconds to reassure herself Nikola was still holding on. Her arm throbbed. At last, they emerged onto the lawn and made their way towards the house.

There was a light showing through the window of a room on the ground level: the library. Her father must have stayed up to wait for them.

Her companion deposited Nikola in a heap at the base of the floor-length window, though to her credit she did it as gently as possible, then turned to her. From her mouth emanated a series of clicks and hisses, ending in three firm stabs into the dirt with one leg.

Helen was beginning to feel ill; stress, exertion, and loss of blood seemed the most likely reasons, though she suspected she had also got a mild dose of whatever poison was affecting Nikola. The hissing sounds slid off her tired mind like water, but she nodded, managing to get out a hurried "thank you" before the arachnotaur scurried off into the darkness and disappeared. Whether or not it heard her, Helen couldn't be sure, but she had more pressing concerns at the moment.

Swaying a little, she staggered up to the library window and tapped on it, praying her father hadn't fallen asleep.

He had not. An instant later he appeared at the window. His eyes widened and he unlatched it immediately.

"Helen," he began. "Are you – "

"Nikola," she interrupted, too exhausted to explain further. "Help him."

Her father nodded and joined her outside, hoisting up Nikola's legs as she took his arms, carrying him inside. Only after he was safely set onto a long table that Gregory hastily cleared did Helen notice that they were not the only occupants of the room.

"Goodness, my dear, what happened to you?" Aunt Adelaide exclaimed, hurrying forward to take Helen's bloody hands, inspecting the gash on her arm as Gregory bent over Nikola.

Helen barely heard her. She was light-headed and numb all over. After the events of that night, and with Nikola hanging on by a thread, the last thing she felt capable of doing was inventing an excuse that Adelaide would believe. She was struggling through the beginnings of a midnight walk and ensuing animal attack, when her aunt glanced at Nikola and her eyes went wide.

Helen spun around, fearing the worst, but Nikola was still breathing. Her aunt's reaction had not been caused by a change in his condition, but a change in his appearance: his eyes were unseeing but open and blacker than ink, sharp fangs just visible through his parted lips.

Helen's stomach dropped out from under her. There was no rational explanation for _that_. Her head spun. Their secret was as good as discovered, but Helen could think of no way to shield Nikola from the consequences. She turned back to her aunt, her mouth opening, unsure what would even come out –

" _Sanguine Vampiris_ , eh?" Adelaide said coolly before Helen could speak. "Well, I certainly never thought I would see one of those in the flesh!"

"I – what – Aunt Adelaide, do you – " Helen was staggered. Perhaps she was delirious. Nikola had seemed so earlier. It might have been a delayed reaction in her case.

Her aunt took her arm gently and led her over to a chair. "Sit down, Helen. You've clearly been through an ordeal."

Helen resisted the firm pressure pushing her towards the chair. "Nikola – " she started.

"You'll do him no good if you collapse first. Sit."

Somehow, she found herself sitting down. Her aunt went to the sideboard and came back with something that was most definitely not tea.

"Drink up, now," she said.

Helen drank.

"Tell us what happened."

* * *

Nikola's dreams were muddled and restless, of the sort that usually accompany a high fever. They faded from his memory as soon as they were over, but when he woke up, his heart was racing.

The last thing he remembered was regaining consciousness briefly to find Gregory Magnus bending over him, bandaging his shoulder. Nikola had been highly disappointed. After everything, the least the universe could do was let him be greeted by the sight of his darling Helen.

A horrible explanation had occurred to him as to the reason for her absence. Dizziness overcame him as he sat up, but before he could attempt to stand, his indistinct and rather panicked mumbles had informed Gregory of the nature of his distress.

Gregory had had to reassure him multiple times that Helen was alive and relatively unharmed before Nikola allowed himself to be pushed back down, although by that point he realized he wouldn't be able to sit upright any longer anyway.

As awareness faded again, Gregory tipped his head back and poured something warm down his throat. Animal blood, Nikola had thought – rabbit, if he was any judge of taste, and he was. It had been dreadful, but it was preferable to the alternative.

Now, the liquid being administered to his dry, raw throat was water, and the hand that held his chin was cool and a good deal gentler than Gregory's.

Even when his eyes opened, the room was pitch black, though from the softness of the surface underneath him he could tell he was back in his bedroom, or at least a bedroom. His senses weren't quite at full capacity yet; it was more hope than certainty that made him speak.

"Helen?" he murmured.

A chuckle from the person sitting by him. "Flattering, but I'm afraid you will have to wait a little longer to see her."

Nikola blinked as his vision finally returned to normal. He gaped. "Adelaide?"

She was knitting a fluffy pink mass of indeterminate shape, and muttered a number under her breath before she looked up. "Oh, not you too. Is it truly so surprising that I should have seen a bit of the world?" Her eyes twinkled.

Nikola's mouth was still open. He closed it, his most pressing concern returning to the forefront of his mind.

"Helen – " he got out, already moving, before Adelaide's hand closed over his wrist with surprising force.

"Is perfectly safe. She was not hurt so badly as you. Gregory and I have tended her wounds, and she is resting now.

"I have to see her," he said, and tugged at his trapped wrist.

"Later. Now, you might be strong enough to break that grip in an instant if you pleased," she said calmly, "but I doubt you're strong enough to make it more than a few steps down the hall, and Helen would be very annoyed with you if you fainted on her doorstep again."

"But I – "

"You want to look after Helen, I suppose. Well, Gregory and I had the devil of a time restraining her from staggering off to do the same for you, and I won't have you bursting in there and waking her up."

"I wouldn't – "

She leveled a knitting needle at him in an accusatory fashion. "I know you young lovebird sorts. She'd break her stitches trying to fluff your pillow, and you'd pass out trying to fix her tea, and there would be no end of unnecessary melodrama. Let her sleep. Goodness knows you both need it."

Nikola bristled a bit at "unnecessary melodrama" – his dramatic instincts always had good reasons behind them – but deflated somewhat. Besides, he begrudgingly admitted she had a point. His head was swimming just from sitting up, and as much as he ached to see her, if Helen was in a similar condition, she truly did need to rest.

"Is she alright?" he asked anxiously.

Adelaide chuckled.

"I fail to see what's so amusing," Nikola began, rather stiffly, but she cut him off with a raised hand.

"Nothing at all. Your concern does you credit. It is only," and she started laughing again, "that I have spent so much time over the past hours reassuring one of you that the other is safe, I am beginning to think I am good for nothing else." She cleared her throat, sobering.

"Helen asked after you a dozen times – poor Gregory, he thought that she didn't trust him to treat you."

"Did she?" The thought flooded him with pleasant warmth.

"Indeed, and she would have continued asking if she could have remained awake." Adelaide sighed. "She had run herself ragged, dealing with that creature and getting you back here and trying to treat herself and you all at once. Magnuses are a stubborn lot, but I believe she is even more stubborn than most."

Nikola had to smile at that description, even if the first part sent pangs of worry through him.

"But she is much recovered, I promise you," Adelaide continued, apparently noticing this. "All she needs is rest."

She picked up her knitting again. "I confess, I am quite curious about a few particulars of your unusual tale. Helen only told me a little. But I can see from that sentimental look in your eye you would prefer to expound at length on Helen's virtues. By all means, go ahead. It will make my task much easier."

Nikola eyed her suspiciously. "Oh? What task is that?"

"Helen extracted a promise from me to look after you, and to keep you in bed for at least a day, no matter how much you wanted to get up. She also had some choice words about my likelihood of success. I believe she called you a 'bloody stubborn fool.'"

The warm feeling from before returned, somewhat more intensified.

"Besides, you must have questions, and now is the time to have them answered, before you and Helen busy yourself gazing soulfully into each other's eyes." Adelaide chuckled.

Now that his immediate concern for Helen was (somewhat) alleviated, Nikola did have a few points he was curious about. He started with the simplest.

"What time is it?"

"It is two o'clock in the afternoon."

Nikola swallowed. He didn't remember everything that had happened last night, but he was sure he'd let his control slip at least once. "Did you see…?"

"Did I see what you are? Yes, but you needn't worry. Helen and Gregory have already sworn me to silence and told me of your vow never to feed on humans. Your secret is as safe with me as it is with Gregory."

Nikola fell back with a sigh of relief. "I take it you have some experience with abnormals?" he asked after a moment.

"I told you earlier, I seen more of life than a manor house in the country." Her lips twitched. "Did you know that it was I who introduced Helen's mother, my cousin, to Gregory?"

"No," he said.

"At that time, he and I happened to be in the same line of work. Abnormals were our particular subject of study, though my talents lay along a much different direction than his. I suppose you would call me a hunter of sorts. I subdued dangerous abnormals, while he provided care and shelter to those in need."

"My family believed I was traveling the world. Patricia was the only one who knew the truth. She joined us occasionally, though she preferred the academic life even more than Gregory."

Nikola's curiosity pricked at him. Helen hardly ever talked about her mother, and he hadn't wanted to pry, but… "What was she like?"

Adelaide smiled, reminiscing. "She was an extraordinary woman. The kindest, gentlest of souls, and brilliant, even more brilliant than Gregory. Her research concerning abnormals was well ahead of its time. Helen takes after her, though I believe she is also more skilled at – er, my particular line of work, than her mother was."

"I wish I could have met her," Nikola said softly, more to himself than Adelaide.

She patted his hand. "I believe she would have liked you. She had quite the mischievous sense of humor for one so quiet."

Nikola wasn't so sure, not if Gregory's opinion of him was anything to go by, but it was a pleasant, if bittersweet, thought.

Silence fell again, broken only by the clack of her knitting needles.

Nikola had another question, one which he was dreading to ask, but there was no more putting it off.

"How much has Helen told you about what happened last night?"

"Enough to know that you were very fortunate to survive. Helen was most concerned about how your natural healing abilities were affected."

"Are they – have they returned?" he asked at last, bluntly. His injuries didn't hurt, but there were other ways of numbing pain, and he had no idea what was underneath the bandages wrapped around his shoulder and neck.

She smiled at him in a reassuring fashion. "You're as fit as a fanged fiddle. If you had not been, no power on earth could have prevented Helen from being at your side."

The tension drained out of him as he let out the breath he had been holding.

"It used some form of poison that stilled your healing abilities for a short time," she went on. "If the effect had not been temporary, we might not have been able to save you. Such a formula would be complex beyond our current understanding… And why on earth it should possess a weapon targeted so specifically to vampires, I cannot fathom. They became extinct centuries ago."

Nikola sat up again, ignoring the way his head spun, and told Adelaide about their theory concerning the creature's ancestry.

"How intriguing." She leaned forward.

"We often wondered what sort of weapons the ancient humans could have used against my ancestors, who possessed such superior strength, intelligence, and speed."

"I see your modesty is not the reason Helen fell in love with you."

Nikola shrugged, smirking. "If it's true, why should I deny it?"

She raised an eyebrow and ignored him. "But surely to breed such a creature would take far more skill and technology than the humans possessed. And to appear after centuries? Where could it and its ancestors have been living for all these years?"

"That we are not certain of. But it's as good a theory as we have, for the moment."

She sat back with a contemplative look, and took up her knitting again.

"The creature that helped us…"

"The arachnotaur that was living in the forest. Yes, Helen is not sure about why she came to your aid either, but according to her she wants to meet in three days, so perhaps you will find out then. Any more questions?" she inquired.

"No. Only…"

"Yes?"

"It might ease Helen's mind if I were there when she woke up," he tried.

Adelaide laughed. "That might have been successful, if Helen had not attempted to use the exact same excuse earlier."

"Damn," Nikola muttered.

"You had better get some sleep, my dear," she said kindly. "Helen will never forgive me if I fail in my duty. You will see her as soon as she wakes, I think it is safe to assure you of that."

Nikola closed his eyes, but he did not expect to sleep. To his surprise, it did not take him long to drift out of consciousness again, as she spoke quietly, almost to herself, in the background.

"Helen informed me about that poor man you found out there. I will see about sending someone to bring him back, and make the necessary arrangements…"

This time, he slept dreamlessly.

* * *

"I say you should have let him come to you."

The voice, a few feet down the hall from his door, woke Nikola out of his deep slumber. It belonged to Aunt Adelaide, moving very slowly towards him.

"I believe he would have quite enjoyed swooning gracefully at your feet, my dear. It seems a shame to deprive him of the opportunity."

A laugh – clear and ringing – followed this, and Nikola's spirits soared at the mere sound. He would cross mountains for that laugh, and for its owner. He wanted to jump out of bed and rush to her, but his progress was slightly encumbered by the blankets Adelaide had heaped on him while he was sleeping.

"I daresay he did, but he needs the rest more than I do."

Nikola finally discarded the last blanket, jumped to his feet, and catapulted across the room just in time to get to the door as Helen opened it.

"Helen," he gasped like a drowning man, drinking in her sparkling blue eyes, the curve of her smiling lips, the sound of her swearing at him as he fell to the floor, head spinning uncontrollably from the sudden motion of getting up so abruptly.

"Damn it, Nikola," was the first thing she said to him when he could see her clearly again. His head was cradled in Helen's lap, and Adelaide had tactfully wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, still covered in bandages and not much else. "You were supposed to stay in bed."

"You know me, Helen." He gave her a grin. "I'm a charmingly unpredictable rule-breaker."

"You're a bloody nuisance, is what you are," Helen said fondly. She ran a finger tenderly across his cheek before bending to kiss him.

After a minute, she straightened with pink cheeks. "You had better get back in bed," she told him.

"With pleasure," he whispered.

"Nikola!" she hissed.

Between his efforts, Helen's, and Adelaide's, he was deposited back in bed with the blankets pulled up to his chin in a matter of moments. Helen sat next to him on the bed, which he was not certain she was supposed to do. Then she put an arm around him, which he was certain she was not supposed to do. He glanced at Adelaide, but she said nothing, so he dared to nestle into Helen's side, inhaling deeply.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Assurances from other parties were all well and good, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Very much so. It was only a scratch, really. And you?"

"Perfect, now," he said softly.

Helen laughed. "Flatterer. Let me see." She pulled back his bandages, and raised an eyebrow at the smooth, unmarked skin beneath. "Excellent. I had wondered… Well, no matter. You can leave these off – "

"Forgive me, but you might wish to leave them on a while longer," Adelaide interrupted. "I'm afraid we had to use your wild animal story on Charity and the others, and they may find such a miraculous recovery difficult to fathom. You also might need to favor your arm a bit. Gregory rather overplayed the extent of your injuries."

Helen's mouth trembled from suppressed laughter.

"Of course," Nikola said, and favored his arm by wrapping it around Helen's shoulders.

"Very good. Well, I had better inform Gregory that his patient is up and about. I shall be back very soon." She gave them a meaningful look before gliding out and closing the door.

Nikola smirked at Helen. "Well, my dear, I believe your aunt thinks we will be acting in an indecent fashion as soon as she closes the door, so I– mmmph."

Helen's mouth covered his before he could finish. She kissed him long and deeply, but not hard, and her hands wandered less than usual, only sliding over his shoulder blades and through his hair.

She was being especially gentle despite his full recovery, and he wondered if she had been more shaken about the severity of his injuries than he had supposed. Perhaps she had become used to his nigh-invulnerability. He certainly had. The temporary loss had been unsettling, to say the least. Nikola would be very grateful if he never experienced anything like it again.

Putting aside that horrible thought, he turned his attention to more important things, like losing himself in the sweet taste of Helen's lips, her accompanying caresses turning him into jelly.

"Helen, my dear," he murmured against her, "this is precisely the sort of indecent behavior I was about to suggest."

Helen's mouth curved up against his.

A few minutes later, Nikola broke away from her with a soft groan.

"Have you a complaint, Nikola?"

"Oh no, not at all. In fact..." A short interval passed. Nikola had only enough breath to either kiss Helen or speak, and he chose to concentrate on the former. "But – my dear – it is only – we are nearly out of time. Your father will undoubtedly be here soon and I would prefer he did not behead me."

"Nikola, you know that will not happen."

"Because you would defend me?" Now Nikola's hands had begun to wander. Helen's hair was silky against one, the other settled on her lower back.

"If it came to that. But I believe Aunt Adelaide would rise to the occasion before I had the opportunity."

Nikola had not been expecting that. He stilled quite abruptly and Helen started chuckling, louder as he joined her, until she had to bury her head in his neck to keep the noise down.

And if Adelaide and Gregory strode into the room a few moments later and they were forced to break apart, at least Nikola's arm was around Helen and her arm was around him, which was a very acceptable state of affairs.

* * *

By the third day, he and Helen were both well enough to slip downstairs when night fell to meet their friend from the forest outside the library window. Gregory came along, since he could translate.

It was a sobering story, told in intervals of clicking and hissing, Gregory's voice low as he translated. She had been living in some much more temperate climate (Italy, Nikola thought from the description) with her mate when a dreadful earthquake had rocked their home. A fissure had opened up in the cave they had been living in, swallowing her mate, and she had gone in pursuit.

She had become hopelessly lost in the underground tunnels she found herself in, expanding, she said, for hundreds of miles in every which way. After a time she had given up hope of ever finding her way back, but pressed on, in the hopes that she might come upon an alternate exit.

The creature they had faced in the forest had been living in those tunnels. One day it had attacked her, springing out of a side passage with no warning. They had struggled; she had escaped only after paralyzing the creature with her poisoned spines. A few hours later, she had chanced upon a passage that led her to the surface, where she emerged into the cold, damp air of the autumn English countryside. It had followed her, guarding the entrance to the tunnels.

Fear of the creature and despair of finding her way back had kept her aboveground. She had lived in the forest as best she could, though she felt sluggish and cold all day and night. (Nikola sympathized with that part.) She had been hunting the tunnel creature ever since, trying to trap it in her webs, until they came along and she had spied her chance of killing it. Now that it was dead, she would venture back in, and attempt to find her mate and a way home.

Helen bowed low when the tale was done, tugging Nikola down with her, and thanked her for her help earlier before she inquired if there was any way they could return the favor.

A long, increasingly complex series of guttural clacks was her answer.

"She wants us to be alert for any creatures like her," Gregory said. "She believes her mate may have found a way to the surface as she did. If she's correct, we can provide directions to this place. She'll have left a trail to follow."

"Of course," Helen said, bowing again. "We would be happy to help."

The arachnotaur stared intently at her for a moment before letting out a long, soft hiss and inclining its head. That needed no translation.

A soft skittering of gravel was the only sound they heard as she melted into the darkness.

Helen was staring off after the arachnotaur with a pensive look. There was a biting wind tonight, and Nikola shivered.

"Do you believe those tunnels were as extensive as she claimed?" Nikola asked. "If so…"

"She had no reason to lie. And that creature came from somewhere." She shook herself and glanced over at him. "Whatever you're thinking, we are not going to investigate until you are completely recovered. And speaking as your doctor, you may also abandon any idea you have of testing out those new lightning powers you seem to have acquired until then as well."

"Aww, Helen…"

"Only until you're well, Nikola." Her mouth quirked. "I am curious myself, on both accounts."

Nikola grinned.

She took his arm. "Come, Nikola. Let's get you inside."

Nikola was happy to oblige.

* * *

 **A/N: The idea for/information about the arachnotaur is not mine! All credit goes to the wonderful Rinari/sanctuarynetworkdatabase on Tumblr, many thanks for allowing me to use it! (And apologies for the long wait for a fic about them XD)**

 **Thank you for reading!**


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